During the past few months we've been taking a look at some of the common and not so common sheep breeds. As flock owners of pure-breds tend to be real enthusiasts and with August falling bang in the middle of the showing season, this is a good time to take a break and put the spotlight on showing!

I have to confess that as far as our flock is concerned we long ago abandoned public life mainly because most of the preparation fell to me! With four young children to contend with, I found the whole procedure extremely stressful and tiring. However, you may be made of sterner stuff and there is no doubt that a display board featuring some fluttering red ribbons at the ram sales come the autumn could have a very beneficial effect on prices.

Presentation is paramount and rightly or wrongly, a pair of shears in the hands of a skilled trimmer can often turn a mediocre animal into something a notch or two higher. Even so, producing a good show animal cannot rely solely on presentation and should begin within days of birth.

With our suffolks, possible show rams are easily identified almost from their first arrival into the world. Big is definitely best! Judges can't help but notice large animals. As big, weighty lambs have every chance of growing into large rams then it makes sense to pay these special attention.

Take any remarks such as, "never had an once of cake," or "straight off grass" with a pinch of salt. All the sheep you see in agricultural show rings have been heavily fed from within a couple of weeks of birth! Our rams build up to around 3-3.5lb of cake per day and end up almost as big as small donkeys!

Of course, large amounts such as this should be given in two or more feeds otherwise you may see the alarming sight of one of your future stars frothing at the mouth as if it is having a fit. This isn't the case, it's just the sheep's way of vomiting, but it is very distressing for both ram, (it's usually a ram due to the heavy feeding) and shepherd. It can take several hours to recover and sometimes even prove fatal. Dosing with bicarbonate of soda can help, but usually the animal recovers on its own.

Assuming you've got a selection of well grown lambs that you think will have a good chance in the ribbon stakes the next stage is to select candidates for preparation. It is very time consuming preparing a ram for show so we only selected our very best. Look for good conformation, especially a good "back end", i.e. large rounded buttocks that will hopefully be passed on to future progeny. The back should be long and billiard table level, (this is where the skill of the trimmer comes in). There should be no sagging in the middle which could denote weakness in the back. The chest should be broad and deep and the legs short and straight. The teeth too are important and should be in line with the upper jaw, not over or under shot. When this occurs it is known as a parrot mouth and the animal isn't suitable for breeding, never mind showing.

There will also be other requirements depending on the breed standard so check these with your particular breed society.

Most sheep are shown "in the wool" which means they haven't been sheared. This doesn't mean that they have just been lifted out of their paddocks and pushed into the show ring! They need to undergo quite a lot of preparation before appearing in public and this begins a couple of weeks before the show.

Our first step was to wash our rams in either washing up liquid or cheap shampoo. Not all shepherds do this as it depends on how dirty the fleece is. Living in the midlands we suffered from industrial pollution that made our sheep noticeably dingy when compared to more remoter areas.

The next step is to "card up". Carding combs are metal spikes set on frames. You should be able to buy these from agricultural shows, breed societies or agricultural merchants. It isn't difficult to card up, but you do need to make sure that the animal is securely restrained.

You can get dedicated trimming stands that will keep even the biggest ram immobile or you may be able to make do with just a head restrainer such as the one we used. This was a very simple affair that bolted onto a hurdle. The ram's head was placed on top and held in position with a quick release rope.

Once the animal is securely restrained you can begin carding. Start at the neck and card the fleece horizontally towards the animal's buttocks. Do the front and rear in the same way and then finally the back. You'll need to use an upward flick of the wrist to puff up the fleece.

When this stage is reached select a good pair of sharp dagging shears. Do make sure that these really are sharp otherwise trimming will take twice as long! Carefully trim off uneven snippets of fleece so as to give an even body appearance that hopefully will give you the typical box like shape so beloved by judges.

A soft brush can be used to remove the trimmings and when finished, take a flat board to "iron" the back nice and flat.

The tail should be finished neatly with a nice V and a straight cut to level it off. It goes without saying that any soiled wool should be removed.

Repeat this procedure at least once and preferably twice more before the show. On the morning of the show itself, rub a little olive oil over the fleece to give it a bit of lustre and also apply some to the head of black faced sheep as this really does smarten them up!

Is that really all there is too it? Well, no it isn't! We all know that text book scenarios bear little relationship to reality and show preparation is no exception! If you really are serious about showing your stock I would strongly advise you to visit someone who is proficient in the art! You will learn far more from watching than reading a library full of how-to books!

Something else that must be considered is that the work itself is very time consuming, even for an expert. For a beginner there is the added fear of spoiling the fleece by injudicious snipping! Then of course there's back ache! Unless you can position the animal at a convenient height, trimming, like shearing, tends to play havoc with your back. A trimming session used to leave me hunched like Quasimodo for what seemed like hours!

Having gone through all that and got your potential star in his Sunday best don't fall at the last fence by allowing him to roam around in a muddy field otherwise you will be back to square one! In fact may breeders take the precaution of making "rugs" from Hessian sacks to protect their handiwork.

You should also pay attention to your own appearance as well. A clean white coat is a must and when I had my brief flirtation with the show ring, men were expected to wear ties. Not sure if this is still required, but it would be a good idea to check. It was also frowned upon to go into the ring sporting the rosettes won in previous classes should you have been fortunate enough to win one! Again, not sure if that still applies, but worth finding out as the last thing you want to do is antagonise the judge!

Don't chatter to your neighbour either. You should have one eye on the judge all the time and the other on your charge. Keep it facing the judge and as still and "stood out" as possible. This means showing itself to advantage with legs straight and balancing each corner and head held erect.

Finally do take time to halter train show stock! There's nothing more embarrassing than having to haul a reluctant animal into the ring and then engage in a wrestling bout to stop it hurling itself upon the ground in an effort to rid itself of restraint.

Even animals that are well trained to walk on the end of a rope can be unpredictable so be alert for any sign of trouble. During one of my forays into the ring the woman next to me suddenly jack knifed into life and was last seen being towed by a stampeding ram towards the W.I. flower tent. No idea what upset it, but she didn't play any further part in the proceedings and no doubt made herself very unpopular with the good ladies from the W.I.!

AUGUST FLOCK NOTES Anyone engaged in early lamb production will need to introduce rams to the flock this month if they are looking to lamb in January. Stock rams should be given a thorough checking over to ensure that they are free of foot rot, (very important as they will not perform if lame) and that they are not suffering from any infections of the reproductive organs. Check for discharge and lumps occurring from the penis or in the scrotum.

Ewes will also need attention. To maximise lamb production ewes should be at the correct condition score, i.e. neither too fat or too thin. There are scientific ways of scoring sheep, but a rough and ready way of doing it is to feel along the back down to the rump. The bones of the back should only be prominent when firm pressure is exerted.

If you can't feel the bones at all the ewe is too fat and her keep will need to be reduced. If the bones are prominent then she is too thin and you will have to offer extra rations.

It is also a good idea to "dagg" soiled or matted wool away from all ewes vents.

Both ewes and rams should also be wormed before breeding begins.

As August is noted for hot, humid days fly strike is still a real threat so you will still need to be vigilant for a few more weeks.